I was afraid it would be a cliche-filled business book, and I was pleasantly surprised by the thoughtfulness and scientific approach of the authors. It's now pretty clear to me why this is a classic and the #1 best-selling business sales book on Amazon.

I don't think there's any rocket science it preaches. What it does get right is that the SPIN questioning process makes the buyer get down to the nitty gritty details and actually understand the problems he or she is facing. It's like the classic problem of software estimation, where only sitting your butt down and figuring out what you have to do and counting all the little details will give you any remotely accurate estimate (I'm concurrently reading Software Estimation: Demystifying the Black Art by Steve McConnellas part of our eng reading group).

I like that the book puts the focus on how to interview and ask questions instead of how to present and "market" features. This focus on interviewing and gaining empathy reminds me a lot about d-school/design thinking processes and lean startup methodologies for entrepreneurs seeking to "sell" (= learn).

I also liked how the authors tried hard to disprove their own theories, including running multiple studies to check for the strength of the Hawthorne effect on their subjects. They had a entire long appendix devoted to the control and statistics methodologies they used.

SPIN = Situation, problem, implication, need payoff

PrefaceLarger sales techniquesBased on research of 35K sales calls

1 sales behavior and sales successClosing, probing open questions, and objection handling are not the key skillsLonger time frameOngoing relationshipSeller not present when buyer decidingMultiple calls needed4 steps Preliminaries InvestigatingDemonstrating capabilityObtaining commitmentNo relationship between open questions and sales successGood investigating questions follow 4 step spin modelSituation questions: tell me about your company's growth plansProblem questions: is this operation difficult to performImplication questions: how will this problem affect your future profitability (help understand a problem's effects and urgency)Need payoff questions: would it be useful to speed this up 10%? How would that help u?

2 obtaining commitment: closing the sale Classic closing techniques ineffectiveAssociation between closing and lost salesClosing techniques work for low value productsClosing success for large sales not only just an orderJudge success by customer actions not words

4 the spin strategySituation questions not positively related to successUse them with purposeProblem questions more usefulAre you satisfied with your current solution for x? Doesn't it mean you lose out with y?Linked to sales successImplication questions: you say x is hard to use. What effect does this have on your output? Could that lead to increased costs?Keep growing understanding of problem by adding up costs that weren't perceived beforeNeed payoff question: positive solution based questions. How would that help? What benefits would you see if you got x? How do you think a faster machine would help you?Get customer to explain to u how ur product solved their problemMake customer the expertRehearse the customer for internal sellingHave buyers explain the benefits to the sellerImplication questions are about the problem (sad)Need payoff questions are about the solution (happy)Write down list of 3 potential client problem areas before the callThink of related difficulties of those problems (implications)Don't ask need payoff question when u can't meet that needNeed payoff examples: why would that help? Would it help if? Why is that important? How would that help? Would it be useful if? Is there any other way this could help u?

5 giving benefits in major salesDemonstrating capabilityFeatures and benefitsFeatures unpersuasiveBenefits better, can only address explicit needs Advantages just show how it meet any needBenefits tied to sales success but only when needs made explicitDon't neglect needs in favor of features of new productTurn attention from product to customerDon't demonstrate capabilities too early in the callBeware of advantage statementsBe careful with new products

6 preventing rejections Objection handling less important skillBetter to prevent objectionsListing features makes buyers want less for expensive goodsFeatures increase price concernLink between advantages and objectionsDon't talk about solutions until gotten enough info on needs

7 preliminariesFirst impressions less criticalDurable impressions made during investigating stageDon't always begin with connecting about personal interestsEarly in call u want to establish ur role as the seeker of info and buyer as the giver so u can ask questions instead of talking about solutionsGet down to business quickly instead of pleasantries Don't talk about solutions too soonConcentrate on questions

8 turning theory into practicePpl work harder to learn knowledge instead of skillsPractice only one behavior at a timeTry the new behavior 3 timesQuantity instead of qualityPractice in safe situationsFocus on investigating stage and asking questionsImplications of problems: increased costs, demotivates best people, causes inefficiencies, answers to so what

I just completed my second Jeffrey Gitomer book: his Sales Bible. I can definitely see his style of numbered lists, with an extra "0.5" at the end at all times, and his intense energy and enthusiasm for sales philosophy came through strong in the audiobook. At times, the text seemed to lack structure and direction, and I felt like there was a lot of repetition. However, buried in this tome are a lot of great nuggets and sample scripts, clearly developed after a lot of field testing.

It's interesting how many of the sales techniques presented link closely with the principles of psychology from some of the other books I've recently been reading.

Below are my main notes and lessons from each section.

Think: the sale is in your head

Walk in with the feeling of certainty, that your product is the best value

Listen to inspirational messages

Pump yourself up

Believe

In your company

In your product

In yourself

And that the customer is better off buying your product from you

Engage

Develop rapport

Ask people where they live, where they grew up, where they travel, how they landed here, how they got to this career

Discover

Find their reasons first; why they buy is much more important than why you need to sell

Find out why others buy

Learn from customer wisdom (ask past customers why bought from you)

Ask

The right questions

Get them to reveal value and benefit of ownership

Dare

Chutzpah

Cold calls

Asking for something

Own

Know whose fault it is when the sale not made

Always your fault

Learn from it

Sell for relationship, not commission

You "earn" a sale, not make it

Prove

Testimonials are huge; use video

Make them specific

Use them on site, in sales visits, with proposals

Become

Daily work towards big goal

Values and techniques of the sales professional

Create difference

Know the difference between satisfied and loyal

Ability to speak and be compelling

Stay a student everyday; apple a day of learning

Friendly relationship

Humor

Creativity

Ask for the sale

Believe in yourself

Be prepared

Don't whine

Yes attitude

Set and write down goals on post it's on mirror

Positive attitude

Customer management

Add value, ideas to prospect instead of just following up routinely

Show testimonials like crazy

Present just facts, no fluff

Ask personal, deep questions about awards, history of customer's company, goals, family; use these to sell to

Be friends with customers

Call people, add value, do things that are not selling to them at all

Take them to events, outings

Join a business council where you can sell to each other

Your current customers are your best prospects

Use humor

Listen to affirmations

Meetings and questions

Answer people's deeper, underlying questions and concerns that lead to close

Ask, What do you look for? What has been your experience? What did you like about it?

Power statements: Sell value to user, not value of product

Develop an elevator pitch with clear call to action

Study the other person deeply beforehand

Cold calls in person or phone: ignore no soliciting signs, ask for help, ask for some passive info, say want to leave some important information, ask who decides on this sort of stuff

Carry article about you, testimonial video, give referral to customer they can talk to, keep a list of loyal customers big and small

Craft words carefully

Never say "honestly" or "frankly"

Presentations

Involve the prospect in the sale; make their experience tactile, hands on

Ask for help in setting up presentation, projector; accept others' offered drinks